She Who Has No Name (The Legacy Trilogy) by Michael Foster Read Free Book Online Page A

further surprises.’
    Gallivan raised his fingers to his lips and made a shrill whistle.  At that very instant, cataclysmic spells erupted from the other Grand Masters, each waiting on the wings.  From their points along the hilltop, explosive magic shot out and decimated the Garten horde in bulk, leaving Samuel and the Erics shielding their eyes from the rain of debris that pelted down all around.  Dust filled the air, setting them to choke , and it only served to further obscure the air.
    Their spells continued unabated, and the three magicians remained huddled next to Anthem and Gallivan, overwhelmed by the bedlam all around.
    ‘Stay close to me,’ Anthem reminded them, raising his voice above the din.
    The cloud to the south had now almost reached them and many of Canard’s men were fleeing before it in a panic.  Behind them, the second army marched inwards, working to bottle them in.  No one could see them coming, but Samuel could sense their presence easily through the shroud.
    Just then, a shudder in the pattern had all the magicians looking to the east along the hilltop, where the weaves of Grand Master Orien abruptly ceased.
    ‘Gods!’ Anthem swore.
    Gallivan, beside him, looked beyond belief.
    ‘What is it?’ Goodfellow asked.
    ‘Grand Master Orien is dead,’ Samuel replied.
    ‘How?’ Eric asked, keeping his head down, but Samuel only shook his head in response.  He did not know.
    ‘I will go,’ Gallivan said and almost simultaneously he bound up in to the air, propelled by his Leaping spell in the manner of a huge flea.  As he sailed through the air to where Orien had fallen, a dark sliver spiralled up from the ground to meet him.  It found him in the air and snapped tight, like a length of rope, and all Samuel could see through the dust and haze was Gallivan falling to earth like a rock, trailing tatters of ruined magic.
    ‘Assassins!’ Anthem hissed.  ‘The Lions be warned!’
    ‘What is it, Grand Master?’ Samuel asked, but the old man looked ill with dread.
    At that moment, the battle fell upon them as the Gartens breached their defences and spilled up over the hill.  Samuel was bowled to the ground with the Erics atop him.  A defiant roar from Anthem cleared the area of Gartens, but it took time for the three younger magicians to regain their feet.  When they did, there was no sign of Captain Adell at all.
    The line on the hill had completely broken and men were now fighting all over in disorganised clumps.  There was no sign of General Canard to the south, but it was clear his forces had retreated, so now the Turians were fighting back to back, with Gartens on either side of them. 
    Grand Masters Jurien and Tudor then came hobbling out of the fray towards them.  Jurien’s robes were torn and singed and he looked full of alarm. 
    ‘We must make a channel,’ he gasped, bent over with age and lacking his stick to aid him.  ‘We need to save as many of these men as we can.’
    A Turian soldier had found the old man’s staff and came hurrying with it to his side.  The withered old magician had just started to reach for his trusty aid, when the soldier thrust his hand up into Jurien’s neck, stabbing him ferociously with a hidden blade.
    Samuel nearly leapt out of his skin in fright, but Anthem acted instantly, killing the assassin before he could flee.
    ‘A spy,’ Tudor said, sounding every bit as old as he looked.  He shook his head forlornly at the corpse of old Jurien.  Bending down, he plucked up the abandoned walking staff and rolled it over in his leathered hands.  ‘Curse this day—and it is just beginning.’
    Gallivan came looming out of the haze from the opposite direction.  He also looked haggard, but at least he had somehow escaped the trap meant for him.  ‘We are the last three,’ he declared with woe.  ‘The other Lions are dead—already overcome.’
    Anthem nodded solemnly.  ‘This battle is lost,’ he told them.  ‘We are pinned between